I spent my whole life thinking I had good vocabulary and definitions. One thing about taking on the yoke of Jesus is that there are certain words that take on a whole new meaning. Upon being born again, the Holy Spirit's indwelling in me schooled me: "you don't know the meaning of My Words." Like grace. I used to always think of ballets, motion or being naturally gifted. Now grace so much deeper! It's super meaningful, its favor from God. The agent of delight God uses in relating to me. Salvation is grace as a gift. Providence is grace as guidance. Answered prayer is grace as intervention.
The Holy Spirit is a dictionary unto Himself redefining my misunderstood words(= humbling). On to the next word: gentleness. It's absence in my life makes it a curiosity, I need to long for it. If you pray to Jesus, pray that gentleness would win me over. I'm trying to come up with a parable about gentleness for class (this is my attempt at brainstorming).
In thinking about biblical parables the one that comes to mind the strongest is the Shepherd who leaves the herd of 99 to find the one lost sheep. Luke 15:3-7; Mt 18:12-14. Centrally the parable isn't about gentleness however the shepherd personifies gentleness well. As a Bible word search, gentleness is at its best in Evangelism and Apologetics 1Pt 3:15. Gentleness should be our countenance, evidenced on or in us Php 4:5. In Gal 5:23 a fruit of the Spirit is gentleness. A man of God, a leader must have gentleness 1 Tm 6:11.
Gentleness was one of the first word transformations the Holy Spirit performed in my mind. All my life before encountering Christ, I thought gentleness was something for mothers to use, soft, delicate, for kids and safe -its a weakness for men. "the meek won't inherit squat -'cause I'll take it from them." To quote one of my favorite rap groups before Jesus revealed Himself to me. This quote sums up my thoughts about gentleness "B.C.".
Then God humbled me, heard my cry for His blood and forgiveness through faith. I quit leaning on my own mind.
So a couple of weeks later I'm at church for the first time in like 12 years and I didn't know anybody there. As the weeks went on I kept coming back and shaking new hands, joining small groups of men for prayer before the service. These men were older and wanted to know how my car is or if Target's a good place to work or if softball is my cup of tea. One man invited me to pray for his grandma who is dying and lives in Alabama... I thought that was powerful. This connectedness -that God would oblige my prayer as He sees fit regarding the 'Bama Granny. This man across from me (who is supposed to be "tough") is asking me, and has faith that God would hear my voice in His throne room? There's more, they were coming clean on their anger issues, debt, drinking or relationship tension at home. I got to know their names because they were asking me to pray for them. So cool and not world-manly.
I saw males as gentle for the first time in my life through the eyes of the Holy Spirit. These men of God were good for light-hearted jokes separate from sexual or cultural degradation. They showed me care and concern for others instead of ego tripping. They asked and looked for opportunities to serve. These were father figures for me and they didn't even know it. They went home from work and didn't drink.
To me, a gentle man thinks constantly about the worship and honor of Jesus Christ. A gentle man knows right from wrong and applies Scripture. A gentle man listens actively and sincerely wants to know all the people that crosses his path. A gentle man lets the Lord fight his battles and pauses before responding in disagreements. A gentle man enjoys the counsel of brothers, loves his wife passionately/honorably. A gentle man lets other men see how winsome gentleness is. There is no condemning of unbelievers and a gentle man fears God because He alone is in control.
Now that the Holy Spirit's definition of gentleness leaves me corrected and on the short end of the measuring stick: I desire gentleness big time.
